to desegregate after Brown v . Board of Education .
President Gee – even after governors in Alabama and Mississipi had failed to prevent desegregation at their universities and after several educational institutions in Texas had desegregated – blocked integration on his campus until 1964 , when ETSC and Sam Houston State Teachers College were the last holdouts .
After the school ’ s integration and in recognition that it now offered doctoral programs , it was renamed yet again , and became East Texas State University .
VELMA WATERS
EAST TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY ( 1966-1996 ) With D . Whitney Halladay at the helm as president starting in 1966 , this period began with robust building and expansion – with the construction of the school ’ s administration and business education building , three dormitories , the journalism building and other projects .
However , when oil prices plunged in the mid-80s , the resulting economic downturn led to the Texas Legislature having serious discussions bout closing “ redundant ” institutions , and ET became a candidate for defunding . This was eventually thwarted , however , during the presidency of Charles J . Austin , after more than 400 alumni and other supporters ventured to the State Capitol to show their support for ET .
As the period progressed , under presidents Austin and then Jerry Morris , the university worked to gain membership in multiple educational associations , such as the American Association of State Colleges and Universities , the American Council on Education , and the Association of Texas Colleges .
In 1996 , ETSU was admitted into the Texas A & M University System , and while a majority of students , alumni , faculty and other supporters were in favor of simply renaming their school East Texas A & M University , it was instead rebranded Texas A & M University- Commerce .
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- COMMERCE ( 1996-2024 )
Over the years following its admittance into the Texas A & M System , A & M-Commerce saw significant beef ups in its research output from faculty , as they more aggressively applied for reasearch grants in a wide range of disciplines – particularly in the areas of science and healthcare , but also included projects in the humanities such as collections of oral histories and the commissioning of musical compositions .
Another characteristic of the A & M- Commerce years was the university ’ s
CHARLES GARVIN
increase in diversity , which included the U . S . Deprtmant of Education naming it an “ emerging Hispanic-serving institution ” in 2014 , when Hispanic students rose to 15 % of the university ’ s total fulltime student body .
Also , in recognition and in support of its more diverse population , two fixtures on the campus that formerly bore former president Gee ’ s name – the library and a pond at the front of campus – were renamed after the first Black student to enroll at ET , Velma K . Waters , and its first Black graduate , Charles S . Garvin , respectively .
In recently decades , A & M-Commerce also grew to be its own “ system within a system ,” when it formed partnerships with Collin Higher Education Center in McKinney , Navarro College in Corsicana and Texas A & M ’ s REL- LIS tech-centric campus ; and opened A & M-Commerce satellite campuses in Mesquite and Dallas .
Finally , in the summer of 2024 , university leadership and stakeholders began discussing a possible rebranding to appeal to a broader range of prospective students and partners , and the name East Texas A & M-University was chosen .
EAST TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY ( 2024- ?)
NOTE : Much of the information about the history of East Texas A & M was gathered from late ET faculty member and historian Daniel E . Reynolds ’ book , “ Professor Mayo ’ s College .”
28 GREENVILLE LIFE